[Edit note: This is not the post I was planning on putting up on Thursday or Friday. I’m actually rewriting part of it, and I’m trying to go for length. It should be up Monday. Today and tomorrow are more… filler posts.]
In the world of anime, there are always going to be popular series to love, and popular series to love to hate. There are many popular series that remain as such for their entire life span (Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, Bleach, the never-ending One Piece to name a few). On the flip side, there are always popular anime that… just aren’t as popular online. That’s the polite way of saying it.
One such series is Sword Art Online.
For background, SAO started out as a series of web novels written by Reki Kawahara that was later republished into a series of light novels starting in 2009. These light novels proved popular (as well as his other series Accel World), and both would soon be green lit for manga and anime adaptations. As of now, there are 26 volumes of the light novels, which span several in universe years. There have been three seasons of the anime, as well as an extended length bonus episode and a film, with a new season promised and a new film coming out soon.
The funny thing is, it was decently received originally in the West. And then it was plagued with pacing issues, massive amounts of “sloppy writing” as well as logical gaps for several characters that just don’t really make much sense. For more serious anime fans, the issue is that Kirito is presented as the “perfect” one, and is promptly trashed online.
The fact that his group of friends is mostly made up with women around his age that all at one point admire or have crushes on him (minus one girl who is younger) is somewhat problematic. I will give the series one thing though. While he does have these girls in his group, he has only become romantic with one girl, and he is in a committed relationship with her.
SAO deals with virtual MMORPGs. Basically the player puts on a headset and is connected to the video game. This proves to be a problem during the first arc, Aincrad, as the creator of Sword Art Online, Akihiko Kayaba, traps them inside. The players are in comas playing the game to either completion… or death. It’s actually has real world stakes, which is honestly terrifying if you think about it. Past the first arc, several other VMMORPGs are introduced, one of which becomes something of a “hub” for the main characters.
The main character, Kazuto “Kirito” Kirigaya, is one of the players trapped inside. He had been a beta tester and understand how to use the game better than most, due to having previous experience. When he fails to use that knowledge during the first boss raid a month into the game, costing the lives of about twenty players (due to Kayaba having changed the boss’s pattern, as well as the location and design of the dungeon), he is labeled a “beater”, which is a portmanteau of “Beta Tester” and “Cheater.” He runs with it, literally, and becomes one of the strongest solo players in the game. He has any adventures with different characters that would end up becoming friends of his both in game and out, but also faces tragic losses, including the girl who was his first crush, killed in front of him when they get caught in a trap.
But he also grows in the two years they remain trapped. He teams up with Asuna Yuuki (her in-game name is also her first name) a few times, slowly becoming friends, and shifting into a relationship. After they are married in game, they end up helping care for a young girl named Yui, who turns out to be one of the programs that was locked when Kayaba sealed the game. After finding Kayaba in-game, Kirito is able to beat him in a desperate fight after he nearly kills Asuna, and frees them.
During the next several arcs, Kirito really grows up. He’s values life more than anything, and is willing to put himself in danger to protect anyone he deems deserves it. His relationship in the real world with Asuna blossoms, and I consider it to be very healthy. He also is able to mend fences with his sister Suguha, who he basically cut out of his life when he found out that he was adopted (his “parents” are his aunt and uncle, who adopted him as a baby after his parents died in an accident).
His friendships with other members of his friend group range from true friendships to teasing brothers, depending on the person. Once the second arc is finished, it seems like he really tries to become someone his friends can count on, helping them in game and supporting the in the real world.
Here’s the thing. I know there’s wonky writing. I know that the main character is somewhat problematic (which actually is fixed once you get past the first arc in my opinion). I know it’s not for everyone.
But I actually like it.
So much so that I bought my ticket to see the first film in theaters less than ten minutes after they went on sale back in 2017. (I even took the day off for it.) I own most of the light novels (currently on a book buying ban, so I’m two back), and a good portion of the manga. I also have the video games, but I’m completely terrible at them.
I found the story to be pretty compelling. It’s been a trope in a few anime or manga that I’ve read previously (famously in the .hack// series), but this brought it to the world on a larger scale. In all actuality, I noticed a major uptick in shows with this theme. It’s something that ended up drawing me to SAO in the first place.
I also am a solo-player when I play games. I don’t like to join parties or groups. Back when Cartoon Network’s MMO FusionFall was still available, I did 99% of the game solo, except when I had been asked by a friend to help them with some early tasks one day. I think that gave me a connection to Kirito that most people don’t have, as most people don’t mind being in groups and parties when playing online games.
I’m actually planning on rereading the light novels pretty soon, because it’s been awhile. I also want to read the “Progressive” novels, which rewrite the first two light novels into a longer length, going almost floor by floor. I own five of them, but I haven’t really sat down to read them, as I got the during the third season of the anime, which in my opinion is the strongest season (though you have to watch the first two seasons to understand exactly what is happening).
So yeah. I love a series that isn’t well received. It’s not the first time (that would be Gundam SEED), but it’s cool with me. I watch what I like, regardless of what the people around me say.
(BTW, I’ll go into more detail during my Whumptober wrap up post, but wow, when I crossed 9-1-1 with SAO, I got some hilarious messages on tumblr… Just wait for that next month.)
Until next time!
